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A BID to free a former Royal Marine sergeant jailed for murdering an injured Afghan fighter is to be debated by MPs next month.
Tory MP Oliver Colvile yesterday secured a three-hour general debate on an e-petition which called for Alexander Blackman to be freed and to have his murder conviction rescinded, claiming he had "defended his country from a terrorist."
Mr Blackman shot his victim, who was already seriously injured, in the chest at close range with a pistol.
The killing happened in Helmand province in 2011 while Mr Blackman was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando.
Blackman was recorded on a fellow soldier's helmet camera telling the Afghan fighter: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us."
He then turned to fellow soldiers and said: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention."
The debate is scheduled for January 26.
